Time your visit to the Mekong to coincide with a local festival! Throughout the countries that make up the Mekong Sub-Region, you’ll find a full calendar of festivities that draw from religion and history to create a fun, memorable experience for everyone. These three festivals we’ve listed here only scratch the surface of the endless festive possibilities you can enjoy in this part of the world!
In Thailand, mid-April’s heat sparks a water war in good fun, throughout the country. The Thai new year of Songkran, is ostensibly a time for cleansing and paying respect to elders; at this time of year, Thais wash Buddha statues and clean their homes, while also respectfully washing their elders’ hands with perfumed water as a sign of respect.
It’s a totally different game outside: teens armed with buckets and water pistols happily drench all and sundry with glee. It’s all intended to wash away bad luck – but now it’s also become a great way to ward off the summer heat, and have a splashing good time too!
The best places to experience Songkran are in Thailand’s key cities: in Bangkok (particularly the Khao San tourist district) and Chiang Mai. Ayutthaya also celebrates Songkran, albeit with a more traditional bent.
In Cambodia, a different aquatic festival is celebrated: the festival of Bon Om Touk , which involves fluvial parades and boat races on the various waterways throughout the country. Founded by the Khmer king Jayavarman VII as a training festival for his soldiers, Bon Om Touk is held just as the Mekong River and Tonle Sap lake reverses its flow every November.
The best place to see Bon Om Touk is at Tonle Sap itself: the Loy Pratip fluvial parade releases illuminated boats onto the lake at sunset, brilliantly lighting the surface and surroundings. In the daytime, brightly-colored racing boats compete in pairs, with the contestants rowing furiously over the lake for prizes and honor.
In Myanmar’s Taunggyi, Shan State, the end of Buddhist Lent kicks off with a majestic Hot Air Balloon Festival. Unlike other Myanmar festivals, this one is loud, garish and colorful – with an abundance of music, fireworks and lights to accompany the mulberry-bark balloons that loom over the crowds.
At 8pm, the festival organizers launch the balloons, which rise into the air until the fire that provides buoyancy start to burn the balloons from within. Foreign tourists can view the festivities from special sections intended for foreigners, at a safe distance.
The Hot Air Balloon Festival takes place during the Tazaundaing festival, usually on the full moon day of Tazaungmon in November. Visitors to Taunggyi will be better served staying at lodgings in nearby Nyaungshwe.
